Review: Atlanta Opera’s splendid “Barber of Seville” a respite from worldly troubles

The opening night performance of Atlanta Opera’s The Barber of Seville was dedicated to the people of Ukraine. 

Artistic director Tomer Zvulun spoke before the performance about the tragedy unfolding there. There was a steady round of applause before the curtain went up. Should we be at the opera, a funny one at that, while a million and more Ukrainian refugees flood into other countries as theirs is being bombed? Should we be chuckling at the antics of Figaro, the barber of Seville, while husbands are being conscripted into war and wives are making Molotov cocktails? Should we be sitting in plush box seats with our opera glasses, looking at beautiful people singing beautiful music, while there is a miles-long column of Russian military bearing down on Kyiv?

Gioachino Rossini’s beloved opera buffa premiered on February 20, 1816, at the Teatro Argentina in Rome. The well-to-do attended – men with their cravats tied just so, women with their dresses crisp as apples – while the world churned outside.

The War of 1812 had just ended. Thousands died. The Napoleonic Wars were tearing the world asunder. Napoleon was in Paris with 340,000 soldiers. Mount Tambora, in the Dutch West Indies (today’s Indonesia), had exploded not long before the opera’s staging, killing nearly 100,000 people. 

How mirthful were the operagoers that night? Did they feel any guilt for enjoying art in times of woe? Is there ever a time without woe? Can we, should we, smile warmly in the cold of life?

Clearly Rossini thought so. Clearly the Atlanta Opera thinks so.

“Art is a way of survival,” Yoko Ono said. “Comedy is simply a funny way of being serious,” Peter Ustinov said.

The production at Cobb Energy Performing Arts Centre is a delightful romp. It is a classical music confection. It lets audience members step away from the day-to-day tribulations, for a few hours at least, to take a breath, to chuckle, to revel in art.

The show starts off with a bang. If you don’t know Rossini, you know his music anyway, at least the beginning, made famous by Bugs Bunny cartoons. The orchestra, under the ebullient baton of Arthur Fagen, plays it all with aplomb. Soon, on stage, comes the charming, comedic, cavalier Figaro. If you’ve heard any opera singing in your life, it’s probably his rapid-fire aria, “Largo al factotum.”

Figaro is played by Atlanta native Joseph Lattanzi. He is more than up for the task. Previously heard in Atlanta Opera productions of Pagliacci, Sweeney Todd and Carmen, his presence on stage is like a warm glow. His voice is stellar. His acting is top notch. He can garner a snicker from the audience with just a facial expression. He doesn’t as much command the stage, as integrate with it, letting his skills play off those of the other performers.

A brief plot outline: The story follows the escapades of the barber as he assists Count Almaviva in prying the beautiful Rosina away from her lecherous guardian, Dr. Bartolo. This is to say: a love story with a bunch of comedy thrown in.

However silly the show is (there’s a blind guy who putters around the stage a lot, a scene involving yoga and a sitar, and soldiers who look like they’ve got black bed pans for helmets), the singing and acting are sublime. Tenor Taylor Stayton, in his Atlanta Opera debut as Count Almaviva, is mellifluous with a honeyed timbre. Bringing back Stayton, who has played at Opera Philadelphia and The Met, should be top of mind.

His love interest in the show, Stephanie Lauricella as Rosina, is also making her Atlanta Opera debut. The mezzo soprano has been on some of opera’s finest stages, including Paris Opera and San Francisco Opera. It’s easy to see why. The aria “Una voce poco fa” highlights her skills. She sings like a spring day: birds singing, sun shining, a wink of joy at every turn.

There are no weak links in the cast. Perhaps the funniest is Giovanni Romeo, making his U.S. debut. The Milanese bass-baritone has played at Teatro alla Scala in Milan, the Bolshoi Theatre in Moscow, and ABAO in Bilbao, among others. He brings not only a breadth of singing talent, but also comedic timing. And a love of chickens. (There are a lot of chickens in the show.)

The sets, by Shoko Kambara, are simple but effective. The costumes, by Amanda Seymour, are flashy and fun. The direction, by Michael Shell, is inviting and allows room for play.

The opening night performance ended to rousing applause. The world outside is still raging, but it’s always good to be reminded that there is also humor, hope and humanity. There is light in the dark. With this show the Atlanta Opera is holding a lantern.

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Jonathan Shipley is a freelance writer based in Hapeville. His writing has appeared in such publications as the Los Angeles Times, National Parks Magazine and Earth Island Journal.